(RepublicanReport.org) – While all death can be devastating, the loss of a child is often even more painful. Sometimes, lives are lost without any way to prevent them, but other times, people die in ways that could have easily been avoided. This latter scenario recently occurred in Australia when a 13-year-old girl died after participating in a viral social media trend.
Paul and Andrea Haynes are now raising awareness around deadly social media trends after one took their teenage daughter away from them. On March 31, Esra Haynes was hanging out with her friends when she tried “chroming,” a trend similar to huffing, where people inhale paints, gas fumes, or other chemicals in order to get high. In Esra’s case, she inhaled aerosol deodorant.
During the incident, her friends first thought she was having a panic attack when her body was actually going into cardiac arrest. Once taken to the hospital, the young girl was on life support for eight days before her parents were told her brain was beyond repair. Laying next to her in a hospital bed, they watched their daughter die as their hearts broke.
Now, Esra’s parents are doing everything in their power to stop similar trends from taking the lives of innocent children. They believe that simple things like teaching students CPR, changing the ingredients in aerosol cans, and educating kids about the dangers of chroming can help reduce injuries and deaths.
According to media reports, three similar instances have occurred in Australia in recent years. In 2019, a 16-year-old died; in 2021, another 16-year-old became permanently brain damaged; and in 2022, a third 16-year-old died — all after chroming, just like Esra Haynes.
How can these horrific deaths be stopped in the future? Should social media be monitored to stop these trends in their tracks and protect kids, or is there another answer to preventing such tragedies?
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